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NOTTINGHAM FOREST HISTORY
14 April, 1991

FA Cup semi win over West Ham

On this day in Nottingham Forest history in 1991 Forest reach their first FA Cup final for 32 years.

Cup runs and campaigns

Reached final / semi-final / quarter-final
Goal scorer, Roy Keane, pictured 2014.
Goal scorer, Roy Keane, pictured 2014. Image: Irish Defence Forces / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Nottingham Forest reached their first FA Cup final for 32 years with a 4-0 semi-final win over West Ham United at Villa Park.

After a tight first half, Forest took control after the break. Gary Crosby opened the scoring with a right-footed finish, and Roy Keane soon added another to put Forest in command. What had been a nervous semi-final suddenly became a match Forest could dominate.

Goal scorer, Roy Keane, pictured 2014.
Goal scorer, Roy Keane, pictured 2014. Image: Irish Defence Forces / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Stuart Pearce then struck from a free-kick before Gary Charles added the fourth, turning the afternoon into one of the clearest semi-final wins in the club’s history. West Ham were swept aside by a Forest team that found goals from across the pitch when the occasion demanded it.

The result mattered because it sent Forest back to the FA Cup final for the first time since 1959. For supporters who had waited decades to see the club return to that stage, the scoreline gave the day a sense of release as well as celebration.

Semi-finals can be tight, nervous affairs, but this one became a clear statement. Forest left Villa Park with a Wembley place secured and four different goalscorers attached to one of the club’s major cup afternoons. Forest went on to face Tottenham Hotspur in the final at Wembley. After Stuart Pearce gave Forest the lead Tottenham fought back to win 2-1. Forest’s first FA Cup final since 1959 therefore ended in heartbreak rather than another trophy.

Match Highlights

Sources

West Ham United official site; WorldFootball.net; 11v11

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Notts County 0–2 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 3–0 Blackburn
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Vitória SC 1–1 Nottingham Forest
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Portimonense 1–2 Nottingham Forest Sporting CP 4–1 Nottingham Forest
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Udinese 1–0 Nottingham Forest Barcelona 1–0 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 2–1 Bayer Leverkusen
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Nottingham Forest 2–0 Stade Brestois 29
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Nottingham Forest 0–1 Leeds
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Nottingham Forest 0–2 Leeds
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Liverpool 2–2 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 0–0 Tottenham
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Aston Villa 1–2 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 0–1 Coventry
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Crystal Palace 14:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 16:30 Arsenal
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Ipswich 20:00 Nottingham Forest
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Brentford 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 17:30 Manchester City
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Bournemouth 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 20:00 Chelsea
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Hull City 20:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Brighton
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Sunderland 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Everton
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Manchester United 16:30 Nottingham Forest
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Newcastle 19:30 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Fulham
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Nottingham Forest 19:30 Hull City
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Manchester City 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Chelsea 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Brentford
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Fulham 20:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Manchester United
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Everton 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 20:00 Newcastle
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Tottenham 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Aston Villa
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Leeds 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Liverpool
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Brighton 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Ipswich
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Coventry 16:00 Nottingham Forest
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Cup runs and campaigns